Process for breaking petroleum emulsions



pairs STATES rarer orric PROCESS FOR BREAKING PETROLEUM EMULSIONS Melvin De Groote, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to iretolite Company, -Webster Groves, Mo., a corporation of Missouri No Drawing. Application October 20, 1932 Serial No. 638,779

8 Claims. (Cl. 196-4) This invention relates to the treatment of emulpound, and through the sulfur atom in the true sions of mineral oil and water, such as petroleum sulfonic acid. The term sulfo-derivatives of emulsions, for the purpose of separating the oil lauryl alcohol, as herein used, should not be om the Water, and particularly, to the process interpreted or construed as being restricted to described in the pending application for patent such bodies in their acidic state, for in preparof Melvin De Groote and Louis T. Monson, Serial ing the treating agent contemplated by my proc- No. 567,133, filed October 5,1931." ess, I prefer to use sulfo-derivatives in a more Petroleum emulsions are of the water-in-oil or less completely neutralized state, inasmuch as type, and comprise fine droplets of naturallysuch materials are strong acids and as such have 10 occurring waters or brines, dispersed in a more a marked corrosive action on metals. or less permanent state throughout the oil which In preparing or manufacturing my improved constitutes the continuous phase of the emulsion. demulsifyi t, lauryl alcohol or some Simple They are obtained from producing wells and from derivative thereof, such as dodecene, lauryl palthe bottoms of oil storage tanks, and are commitate, or some other lauryl alcohol ester of a 15 monly referred to as cut oil, roily oil, emulsifatty acid, is subjected to the action of a sulfofied oil and bottom settlings. nating agent of a suitable strength under prede- The object of my'invention is to provide a termined conditions of temperature and reaction novel, inexpensive and efiicient process for sepaduration. By such procedure there is produced rating emulsions of the kind referred to into either the sulfuric acid ester or the true sulfonic 20 their component. parts of oil and water or brine, acid, or both. There may remain in the mixture Briefly described, my process consists in subsome residual lauryl alcohol, or other parent majecting a petroleum emulsion of the water-in-oil terial, which is uncombined with sulfuric acid in type, to the action of a treating agent or demulany form "whatsoever. The presence of small sifying agent of a particular composition hereamounts of such lauryl alcohol or other parent 25 inafter described, thereby causing the emulsion material does not detract from the eflectiveness to break down and separate into its component of the reagent. Likewise, lauryl sulfonic acid parts of oil and water or brine, when the emulsion may be prepared in the same manner in which is permitted to remain in a quiescent state after cetyl sulfonic acid was originally prepared by such treatment. Reychler that is by the conversion of the 30 The treating agent or demulsifying agent conalcohol successively into the iodide, the

templated by my process consists of a sulfo demercaptan and the sulfonic acid, or in rivative of lauryl alcohol C12H25OH, the term any other suitable manner. I prefer to prosulfo derivative of lauryl alcohol being herein duce the reagent by the action of 66 Baum used to mean and include the sulfonic acids and sulfuric acid, or fuming sulfuric acid on the free the sulfuric acid esters of lauryl alcohol, in the 'alcohol, or on dodecene, C12H24. In case smaller acidic or neutralized state. Such sulfo derivayields are suflicient, a wax containing the alcohol tives of lauryl alcohol are of a type in which the may besubjected to the action of a sulfonating sulfur atom is part of an acidic sulfur-containing agent, whereby a splitting action takes place, free group, such as a sulfuric acid ester, or a sulfonic alcohol. is produced and this forms the desired 40 acid. In these last two mentioned compounds, reagent by reaction.

the sulfur atom is part of a group or radical, In preparing my improved demulsifying agent, which is an acidic radical-or group (w ch may I may employ lauryl alcohol derived from a suit-. or may not be neutralized), and thus is distinable wax. As a matter of fact, I may employ guished from other non-acidic sulfur groups or lauryl 911001101 Obtained from laulic acid; C0-

A5 radicals, such as sulfones, sulfides, mercaptans, 0031mm 0 and Certain other Oils fats, cont These l tt types are 1-, i l d d by th tain a considerable proportion of the glyceride of expression sulfo-derivativef as herein used, In lauric acid. Cocoanut oil can be converted into many cases the properties of the ulfuric acid a mixture 0f free fatty acids containing lauric ester and of the true sulfonic acid of the alcohol ac These free fatty acids can be converted vention I make no distinction between the two Such ethyl r m hy ester mixtures can be frackinds of sulfo-derivatives, although structurally tionally distilled and refractionated so'as to sep there is a difierence, inasmuch as the sulfur-con- -arate out ethyl or methyl laurate. Ethyl or taining group "is bound to the organic residue methyl laurate can be saponified with sodium through oxygen in the sulfuric acid ester comhydroxide, or potassium hydroxide, so as to pro- 110 00 in question are similar, and in describing my ininto ethyl methyl ester by usual reactions.

Lauryl alcohol or dodecene is mixed with about 35% by weight of 66 sulfuric acid, and the temperature maintained at 35 C. The free lauryl alcohol or dodecene is water-insoluble and the sulfuric acid derivative is water-soluble. Tests are made to determine the extent of reaction. If the uncombined alcohol or hydrocarbon remains, the temperature is raised slightly-approximately 5 to 10 Ce-or a small amount of oleum is added until there remains no substantial amount of unreacted alcohol or hydrocarbon. Of course, higher temperatures and sulfuric acid 'of other strengths may be employed. If dodecene is employed, the product is almost entirely the acid sulfate without the sulfonic acid. If the alcohol is employed at a higher temperature,

more sulfonic acid is obtained. When the re* action is completed the mass is then washed with water, the acidic aqueous layer is withdrawn, and the layer of lauryl sulfuric acid (or 'sulfonic acid) -.is neutralized with caustic soda. If all of the lauryl alcohol of dodecene does not become transformed, into the acid sulfate or sulfonic acid by the action of sulfuric acid, then the residual reaction mass consists of a mixture of the parent alcohol or hydrocarbon and the acid sulfate or sulfonic acid.-

As previously stated, such sulfonated material or materials can be employed in the acid state to constitute the treating agent or demulsifying agent used in my process, but because of its corrosive nature, I prefer to partially or wholly neutralize said sulfonated material prior to using the same to treat the emulsion. The neutralized sulfonated material can be introduced into the emulsion in an undiluted form, or it may be dissolved in water or in oil prior to using the same to treat the emulsion.

The acidic mass may be totally or partially neutralized with any suitable base or basic material, such as ammonia, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide. calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, ammonium carbonate, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, or an aliphatic or aromatic amine. Likewise, an ester may be produced by a suitable reaction of the acidic radical with an alcohol, such as ethyl alcohol, or even an aromatic alcohol. .Some of the reagents thus obtained are dispersible or soluble solely in oil, and others solely in water, and some in both solvents. Accordingly, I wish it to be understood that my process contemplates the use of a treating agent or demulsifying agent that is either water-soluble, oil-soluble, or soluble in both oil and water.

The advantage or superiority of the reagent contemplated by my procem is based on its ability to treat certain emulsions, particularly those which contain minute particles of floating sand coated with oil particles, better than any other known reagent, and not on the basis that it can supersede the majority of the modified fatty acids, sulfated fatty acids, etc. heretofore used extensively as treating agents in the resolution of petroleum emulsions. It is believed that the treating agent above described will find comparatively limited application, as far as the majority of oil field emulsions are concerned, but

it is likewise felt that the said treating agent will economically break or resolve certain oil I field emulsions in a small number of cases which would not be susceptible to any other treating agent of demulsifying agent now available.

In practicing my process, a treating agent or demulsifying agent of the kind above described may be brought in contact with the emulsion to be treated in any of the numerous ways now employed in the treatment of petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type'with chemical de-.

mulsifying agents, such, for example, as by introducing the treating agent into the well in which the emulsion is produced; introducing the treating agent into a conduit through which the emulsion is flowing; introducing the treating agent into a tank in -which the emulsion is stored; or introducing the treating agent into a container that holds a sludge obtained from the bottom of an oil storage tank. In some instances, it may be advisable to introduce the treating agent into a producing well in such a way that it will become mixed with water and oil that are emerging from the surrounding strata, before said water and oil enter the barrel of the well pump or the tubing up through which said water and oil flow to the surface of the ground. After treatment, the emulsion is allowed. to stand in a quiescent state, usually in a settling tank, and usually at a temperature varying fromatmospheric temperature to about 200 F., so as to permit the water or brine to separate from the oil, it being preferably to keep the temperature low enough to prevent the volatilization of valuable constituents of the oil. If desired, the treated emulsion may be acted upon by one or more of the various kinds of apparatus now used in the operation of breaking petroleum emulsions, such as homogenizers, hay tanks, gun barrels, filters, centrifuges, or electrical dehydrators.

The amount of treating agent that may be required to break the emulsion may vary from approximately 1 part of treating agent to 500 parts of emulsion, up to 1 part of treating agent to 20,000 or even 30,000 parts of emulsion. The proportion depends on the type of emulsion being treated, and also upon the equipment being used, and the temperature employed. In treating exceptionally refractory emulsions of the kinds known as tank bottoms and residual pit oils, the ratio of 1:100,.above referred to, may be required. In treating fresh emulsions, i. e., emulsions that will yield readily to the action of chemical demulsifying agents, the ratio of l:30,000, above referred to, may be sufllcient to produce highly satisfactory results. In general, I have found that for an average petroleum emulsion, a ratio of 1 part of treating agent to 5000 parts of emulsion will usually be found to produce commercially satisfactory results.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, which consists in subfying agent containing a salt of the sulfuric acid ester of lauryl alcohol.

3. Aprocess for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, which consists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing the water-soluble salt of the sulfuric acid ester of lauryl alcohol.

4. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type,-which consists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing the sodium salt of the sulfuric acid ester of lauryl alcohol.

5. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, which consists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing a sulfonic acid derived from lauryl alcohol. i

6. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in -oil type, which consists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing the salt of a sulfonic acid derived from lauryl alcohol.

'7. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, whichconsists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing the water-soluble salt of a sulfonic acid derived from lauryl alcohol.

8. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, which consists in subjecting the emulsion to the action of a demulsifying agent containing the sodium salt of a sulfonic acid derived from lauryl alcohol.

MELVIN DE GROOTE. 

